Blood Runs Deep
by not.so.new.in.town
Summary: What Happens when Stefan leaves Elena to be with Katherine and Damon and Elena are left alone to deal with their heartbreak? And what happens when Damon has to leave too? Rated M for possible future Lemons.
1. It Gets Better

N/A: I hope you enjoy the first chapter let me know if i should continue. I do not own anything.

Take what you want  
Steal my pride  
Build me up  
Or cut me down to size  
Shut me out  
But I'll just scream  
Im only one voice in a million  
But you aint taking that from me

Natasha Bedingfield - Strip Me

Dear Diary

Stefan has been cold with me lately and I don't know why. He says he's fine and nothing is bothering him but I can obviously see past his lies. I thought he loved me and its hard to see him look at me that way and lie.

I got up from my desk and headed downstairs. It was my day off from school and I was happy to be home alone. I had a day planned with sleeping and watching movies in my pjs. Stefan was supposed to come over but after our fight last night I didn't think he would.

I opened up the fridge to find some chocolate milk. I poured myself a tall glass and walked to my basement where my DVD collection was. I looked at the wall long and hard trying to decide what to watch. I ended up with Shawshank Redemption and Memoirs of a Geisha. As soon as my foot touched the first step I heard my phone vibrate. I put down the movies and my chocolate milk and pulled my phone out of the pocket of my pjs.

**Stefan**

I read the name loud and clear. I hesitated as I hit the accept call button.

"Hey" I said holding the phone with my shoulder and grabbing the movies and the chocolate milk. I started heading up the stairs.

"Hi" He said, there was something hidden in his voice. Something bad.

"You okay?" I said sitting down on the couch and placing the movies and my chocolate milk on the coffee table.

" Yes, but we need to talk. Right now if possible." He said.

"I'll be over in ten minutes" I replied knowing where this was leading. I got up and got

dressed in a daze. Was this going to be an end? I drove to the boarding house, my heart racing.

I walked up the steps to the front door but before I could place my hand on the door knob the door opened. The look on Stefan's face gave it all away. It was going to be over. He was going to leave me. He didn't say anything but leaded me to the living room. I sat down bracing myself for what I knew was about to happen.

" Elena I'm sorry but this isn't going to work anymore. I can't do this. I can't control myself around you anymore. I need to be with my kind." He said not looking at me.

' AND BY YOUR KIND YOU MEAN KATHERINE RIGHT?" I yelled back knowing it would sting. He flinched before replying.

" Yes, I mean Katherine." I could start to feel the weight on my chest and the tears start to roll to my eyes. " I'm leaving, you won't have to see me again I promise."

" What if I say I don't want you to leave? What if I say I would rather you stay here even if your with Katherine?' I answered the tears flowing.

" I would say you know that impossible and that I wouldn't want to hurt you that much."

"Well it's a little late for that isn't it Stefan." I said coldly.

" I'm sorry Elena." He said and than walked out of my life.

I sat there on the couch for I don't know how long until I finally realized the bar was only a couple of steps away. I got up and poured myself a glass of whisky probably as old as Stefan and sipped it slowly. For a couple of hours I just sat there and sipped. I finally mustered up the courage to walk to Stefan's room to find it bare. He had taken everything and left for good. It was at this point that I reached my breaking point. I started running around the house looking for something that Stefan had left behind. Anything of importance, something I knew he would have to come back for but I can back empty.

I walked myself back to the living room where the bottle of whisky was waiting for me. It was only once I had reached the peak of my drunken loneliness that I realized I hadn't seen or heard from Damon since me being here. It seemed unlike him to not come and comment on my and Stefan's fork in the road. Had Damon left to? Did that mean no more vampires. With that thought came a sudden feeling of relief but than overpowered by the feeling of lose and longing. Even if in the past they brought danger I felt as though I somehow came to belong in their world and it made me sad to think I had been taken out.

I closed my eyes to try and hold myself together because the sudden feeling of rejection was too much to handle. I gulped down the rest of the whisky and poured myself some more. I started to feel the tipsiness of all the drinking. I could see my vision start to cloud. I had to go, I had to find Stefan and make him come back. I had to do something…

I was awoken later by the cool towel that placed on my forehead. My head was pounding and I didn't know where I was. I tried to lift my head but soon gave up on it because the pain in my head would only get worse. I opened one of my eyes bracing myself for the light and took a look at where I was. Surprisingly there wasn't much light in the room and I found it easy to open my eyes. I was lying on something soft which I guessed to be a bed. The bed had black sheets and a smell that I couldn't quite place.

It only hit me after I moved the cool towel on my forehead to cover my eyes. I realized someone had to have moved me and someone had to have place the towel there. I was in Damon's room.

"Damon?" I said my voice croaked.

"Yea." He said and passed me a glass of water. " By the way, thanks for finishing my whisky." He said letting his sarcasm leak in.

"I'm sorry." I said and handed him the glass back.

"Yeah whatever. Get some sleep ill be back with tylanol when you wake up." He said and got up to leave. " By the way I just wanted to say it gets better." And he left the room I mumbled a little thanks back knowing that he could probably hear it.

A/N : sorry for how fast it ended with Stefan but I really just wanted to start with Damon J please review


	2. Pushed Too Far

**N/A: Thanks for the reviews everyone. Especially those with advice. I will try and keep it in mind as I'm writing. Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter. Remember to R&R (Read & Review)This Chapter is dedicated to the heroes of all the wars past. Happy Remembrance Day.  
**

I don't ever wanna feel like I did that day  
Take me to the place I love, take me all the way  
I don't ever wanna feel like I did that day  
Take me to the place I love, take me all the way

Under The Bridge-Red Hot Chili Peppers

As promised when I woke up Damon was waiting at the door with Tylenol and a glass of water.

"Here take these and a good shower will do you some good too. When your done in the shower ill make something to feed you." He said and handed me the Tylenol and pointed to the direction of his bathroom.

"I can use Stefan's if you want." I answered knowing he probably didn't want me to get into his personal space.

"I don't think that's a good idea and the guest bathroom hasn't been used in a couple of years so I wouldn't suggest that either." He answered.

"Oh okay" I answered feeling the awkward vibe roll off of him. Damon wasn't awkward but than again Damon didn't share. Damon left the room and I waited until I thought he might be somewhere else in the house before walking to Stefan's bathroom. Why wouldn't Damon want me in here? The answer hit me as soon as I opened the door and saw that all her stuff was there. Her brush with her hair in it and her shampoo. If Stefan was going to leave why didn't he get rid of all her stuff in his bathroom. The pain hit me like a train. I felt the tears roll to my eyes. How long had he been with her behind my back?

I walked out his bathroom feeling numb. Even in my numbness I had to stop myself from running back to check if he had left anything. Anything that might make me feel closer to him. Anything that would make me feel less alone. I walked into Damon's bathroom and turned on the lights. I peeled my clothes off one by one and turned the shower on as hot as I could. At that moment I wanted to feel anything besides the pain in my heart. I stepped in taking a couple of minutes for my skin to adjust to the heat of the water. I closed my eyes bracing for the flow of tears to come. I just hoped that the water was enough to hide the sound of my tears.

I washed my hair getting a sudden feeling of safety and comfort from the smell of Damon's shampoo. What was I doing? This was Damon we were talking about if anything I should feel some kind of repulsion from smelling like him. Even after telling myself that a couple of times I knew it wasn't true. I loved Stefan, but someone in my heart I know I felt safe and I loved Damon. I just wasn't sure what kind of love was there.

I realized once I got out of the shower and reached for a towel that I didn't have any clean clothes to put on and I truly hated putting on dirty clothes after taking a shower. I pushed away my irritation and looked at the ground for my clothes. The only problem was that they weren't there. In their place was a folded pair of gray joggers and a black V-Neck. I put them on quickly, hating the feeling of being naked, vulnerable.

I walked to the kitchen and almost tripped on the long jogging pants. Luckily Damon caught me in time.

"I can't even trust you to walk around without almost hurting yourself." He said with his signature smirk.

"Well I'm sorry we don't all have unlimited amounts of balance and coordination." I said letting more sarcasm slip in than I meant to.

"You should be careful with which tone you use with me cause first I'm a human killing vampire and secondly I'm feeding you, and trust me I can easily slip some poison into your food. Now that St Stefan isn't here to stop me." His joking tone came to a halt but the words were already floating in the air. "Sorry" He said quietly and went back to chopping up some vegetables.

The silence in the kitchen started to grow very uncomfortable.

"I put your clothes in the laundry, they should be done once you finish eating." He said adding the vegetables to a large skillet on the stove.

"Oh thanks, I appreciate you lending me clothes by the way, and taking care of me." I answered.

"Don't worry about it. We all have out bad days. Well except for me. Cause I'm perfect" He said with a smile and let his cockiness show. I know the subject was going to be dropped now because I'm sure Damon felt weird. I don't even know if he remember the last time he helped out someone if it didn't benefit him directly.

After a few more minutes of Damon working on the stove I had a place full of homemade hash browns and an egg omelette in front of me.

"Ladies and Gentlemen he can cook." I said after taking a bite of the omelette.

"He can do more than cook." Damon answered as he wiggled his eyebrows. It make me laugh. It felt good to laugh. It made the weight on my chest seem bearable.

"Okay, its not like I don't like to watch you parade around the house drunk and stuff but I was just wonder what in the world would make you want to finish my very strong and very old whiskey. You know besides the fact that you might want to sleep with me." He said lifting his eyebrow for a second and than showing his signature smirk.

My smile faded. Those few seconds of painless fun seemed to be a millions years in the past.

"I'm not ready for this Damon." I said pushing the food away feeling my appetite fade. What I wanted most was to wake up from this dream and be lying down in Stefan's bed with his arms wrapped around me. I got up leaving Damon alone in the kitchen.

**Damon POV**

I had found Elena on the floor in the living room when I got home from a hunt. The bottle of whiskey was only a couple of feet away from her. I called out for Stefan to see why he had let his most prized possession get to this point but somehow I knew he wasn't there anymore. There wasn't much I could do besides bring her upstairs so she could sleep it off. I laid her down on my bed and took a step back. So many of my dreams looked like this. Except the other side of the bed was unmade from me lying next to her. The little bit of sunlight from the window danced across her brown hair. She turned in her sleep as if she knew I was watching. I pulled my chair closer to the bed so that I could be there when she wakes up just in case she needed anything. How could a small frail human like her make me seem so vulnerable.

After about two hours she woke for a small period of time in which she drank some water and went back to sleep. Finally after 3 more hours she got up and took some Tylenol and a shower.

When she came down I found myself cooking for her, yet another one of my dreams. If this kept going I wouldn't have to sleep anymore. She seemed slow and in pain. I tried to lighten up the mood with some jokes but they didn't seem to be as helpful as usual. I couldn't take it anymore I had to ask.

"Okay, its not like I don't like to watch you parade around the house drunk and stuff but I was just wonder what in the world would make you want to finish my very strong and very old whiskey. You know besides the fact that you might want to sleep with me." I said with a smile. But as soon as the words left my mouth I wish I could have taken them back because the words seem to crush her.

"I'm not ready for this Damon." She said and walked out. I had pushed too far. The one time I cared, I pushed too far.

**N/A Well I hope everyone enjoyed seeing a little bit of Damon. I just want to let you all know I probably won't be updating like this all the time but I had some extra time so I whipped this chapter up for you guys. Don't forget to Review. J**


	3. My Fault

N\A I know this chapter is a little shorter than the other but i promise the next one will be a little longs. I'm kinda sad that there was only one review from last chapter so i would really appreciate a couple more on this chapter. Thanks a lot, Oli

**But tell me now, where was my fault**  
** In loving you with my whole heart**  
** Oh tell me now, where was my fault**  
** In loving you with my whole heart**

White Blank Page-Mumford & Sons

Damon drove me home in silence. He would bring my car over later. I was in no condition to drive. Every couple of minutes I would get these waves of sadness. It would hit me that I would never see Stefan again. What was I supposed to do know? Was I supposed to go on living pretending that I was never part of their world? Was Damon going to leave too?

That was something that scared more than I would let him know. If Damon left that would be it. The vampire world would have disappeared from my life for good, and something about that really bothered me.

"Hey, I'm sorry about before. For shutting you out I know you were just trying to help." I said attempting to break the silence.

"It's fine" He said simply. The old and careless Damon was back.

"Damon can I ask you something?" I said turning in the passenger seat so I was somewhat facing him.

"You just did." He said with a hint of annoyance.

"Damon are you going to leave Mystic Falls?" I said holding my breath in case I wouldn't be able to hear his answer.

"No." My heart felt a sudden blast of warmth. I don't know what is keeping him here, but just knowing he's here makes me feel better. I decided not to push for more. Damon dropped me off and before I could thank him for anything he was off. I guess you could say Damon isn't good with people who show emotions.

I walked into the house, it felt like I hadn't been here for centuries.

"Elena is that you?" Jenna asked from the kitchen. I walked over before answering.

"The one and only." I replied with a weak smile.

"What's wrong?" Worry written all over her face.

"Stefan's gone." I said taking a seat knowing this wouldn't go quickly.

"What do you mean he's gone. Like he went on vacation where there is no cell reception gone or like gone permanently gone?"

"Permanently gone." I said letting the tears flow loudly now that I didn't have to hide them from Damon. I still couldn't believe Stefan had just left.

"Oh Elena, I'm sorry." She said and gave me a hug. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No, I think I'm just going to go lay down." I said and hurried up the stairs before I could be assessed by one of her how to be a parent books.

Jeremy's room door was closed so I know he was drawing something, I decided to leave him alone for now, I didn't feel very social anyways. I walked into my bedroom and didn't even bother to turn on the lights. I grabbed my phone quickly and changed relationship status.(N/A: I'm sorry I just had to add that in because her friends had to know about it and I don't think there would have been any quicker way) I turned my phone on silent knowing it would soon be loaded with text from concerned friends but I wasn't in the mood to deal with it.

As soon as I was alone with just my head I realized how final it felt. It wasn't a nightmare or some bad dream. Stefan was gone and gone for good. I suddenly wasn't feeling well. My chest felt empty, maybe because my heart was missing. I grabbed my I pod and put myself under my covers. I put my earphones in and put my I pod on as loud as it would go. I just wanted to block myself out from the world. The song White Blank Page by Mumford and Sons blaring in my ears.

I tried to stop myself from going over today's events in my mind. Stefan leaving, seeing her stuff in his bathroom. Damon taking care of me. For some reason when I thought about that last part the weight on my heart seemed to be lighter.

I waited for the tears to come again but they never did. I was finally alone and ready to deal with the pain that had been bothering me all day but it never came.

"_But tell me now where was my fault in loving you with my whole heart?" _

Was it my fault that Stefan left? Was I not good enough for him? These thoughts pained me most. The fact that it probably wasn't his fault but mine. I had ruined what we had. I forced him to have to look for something else, someone else.

That was it, the final push that sent the tears. I knew deep down it was my fault. I never let him be who he was meant to be. I felt the weight in my heart get heavier and heavier.

I cried until I was out of tears. It wasn't like one of those movie moments where when the girl is done crying she makes a pact to not cry over this boy anymore and she promises herself that she's going to move along and get someone new someone better. Unfortunately I didn't see that happening at all. I knew tomorrow would be hard. It would be hard facing the school of people looking at me with pity because I was the girls who's boyfriend left her.

PLEASE REVIEW. THANKS :)


	4. Breakfast

**N/A: I'm so sorry everyone that it took this long but here it is. I would really love it if you guys would review the chapter. Good or Bad reviews are welcome.**

I woke up the next morning in the same clothes I had fallen asleep in. Everything in my room was the same except for the extra thing sitting in the corner. Damon. I had long ago stopped wondering how him and Stefan got into my room with locked doors and windows.

"Good morning." He smiled and moved to sit on the end of my bed.

"What's so good about it?" I said feeling cranky, I hadn't slept well.

" Someone's a little crabby this morning. Well hurry up and get dressed were going out for breakfast." He said and walked out of the room.

Breakfast? With Damon? I didn't ask questions and got dressed, I had to go to school anyways. Just as I pulled on my shirt Damon walked back into the room. " Damon I don't knowwhat's got into you but remember I can't be late for school so this breakfast has to be on the go."

" No school for you today."

"What do you mean?"

"I called in, you're at home with the stomach flu as long as the school is concerned." He smiled and lied down on my bed picking up the book on my nightstand at the same time.

" What about Jenna?" I said and moved to the edge of my bed. I took a few seconds to look at Damon while he was flipping through the pages of my book. His jeans fit him perfectly. Being the perfect color to go with his black t shirt which was just tight enough so that when he moved in a certain direction it gave you a nice trace of his abs.

" Do you seriously find this book interesting?" he said and threw my copy of Twilight to the edge of my bed. " I mean doesn't knowing what a real vampire is like ruin the whole book?"

" No, because its like with boys, there are so many romance novels out there but I know what boys are really like. A girl can dream can't she? I can hope and pray that you guys turn out to be as nice as the Cullen's and as romantic as Edward but it's probably not going to happen."

" Hmm, so what your saying is you want us to climb up trees with you on our backs?"

"No." I laughed " Just a little more romantic. Hey wait how did you know that they did that, did you read the book?" I said feeling like I caught him in the act.

" I might have you know…read a couple of pages. Just for fun thought to see if the author got any of her facts right." He said not so convincingly as he hoped off my bed. " Okay lets go"

Damon got into the drivers seat and started to drive and play with the radio at the same time. I felt the tension in the car start to rise. I finally turned the radio off after a couple of minutes of Damon going threw every single station looking for something to listen to.

"Damon." I said

"Elena" He responded his eyebrow raising.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm taking you to breakfast?

" Yeah, I know that but why? Why did you suddenly start talking to me and acting like you care? Less than a month ago you were ignoring me and you seemed irritated by me? And now allof a sudden you care like what's going on Damon and tell me the truth." It was quiet, the things I had been thinking about since the night at the boarding house were out. It took him a couple of minutes to answer but he finally did.

" I always cared." He said so quietly I didn't think he actually said anything until he turned to look at me. I looked back at him not knowing what to say. " And that is why I didn't say anything."

Damon turned back around and continued to drive. The old Damon was back the cold and hard Damon I had grown to know was back and somewhere inside of me I was really sad about it. He turned the radio back on leaving it on the station it was on. Soon enough "White Blank Page" started to play.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on the words, I could feel each one applying a little but more pressure on my heart. The sharp pain hurt but than again I would rather feel that then nothing at all. I missed Stefan. I heard Damon shift in his seat next to me and I opened my eyes. I guess he didn't notice that I had opened my eyes because his face wasn't a mask like it usually was.

There was the face of a very sad man instead of the stone cold Damon. For a moment I could see that somewhere deep inside Damon was hurting too. As quickly as I saw it, it was gone. The mask was up again.

"I'm sorry Damon."

"Don't worry about it." He said and kept driving.

We finally arrived to wherever we were headed or at least I thought we were. Damon got out, we were at a gas station.

"Damon where are we going exactly?" I said taking a look around I hadn't noticed how far we had gotten.

" I told you were going to go get some breakfast." He said not looking at me.

" Yeah Damon I got that but where are we going, remember I have to be back if you don't want Jenna to find out." I said getting out of the car and walking over to him.

"Don't worry were almost there."

" Damon I'm tired of playing games, where are we going?" I yelled finally grabbing at his shirt.

" Were going to see Katherine." He said. I let go of his shirt. Were going to see Katherine. The words didn't fit together, Its like they didn't make sense in my head. Why were we going to see Katherine.

I stumbled back bracing myself against the car. I let myself fall to the ground curling my legs up to my chest.

"You lied to me, I thought you cared Damon and now your bringing me to Katherine. And why? I know why, you want me to see her and Stefan fucking fuck each other so you fucking vampires can all see me in pain. Well in that case Damon why don't you just fucking kill me now." I yelled at him tears spilling from my eyes.

Damon had me in his arms in seconds. He was hugging me. His arms kept me close to him like an iron cage. I tried to hit him and hurt him, anything.

"Why Damon why?' I said and I gave up on hitting him knowing it wouldn't do anything.

"Now you listen to me." He said as he lifted my chin to look at him. "I'm not going to let them hurt you. Not Katherine and not Stefan." I looked at him not saying anything. He shook my head a little bit "Do You Understand Me?" He said a little louder this time.

"Yes."

"Good" He replied before kissing me lightly.

**N/A: Well I hope you guys liked it and PLEASEEEEEE review.**


	5. Options

**N/A: I am so sorry for the extremely long wait but i was suffering from extreme writers block. I'm sooooo sorry. I hope you guy who stayed around really enjoy it.**

I could feel the air leaving my lungs as Damon's lips met mine. There was no hesitation as he crushed our lips together, and as much I loved Stefan, the kiss didn't feel wrong like I thought it might. Damon pulled away still holding on to me. My eyes met his. The usually ice blue storm in his eyes was calm and for a second I could see Damon's mask crumble.

"Get back in the car, were going to be late." He said as he walked away.

"Okay" I answered back breathlessly. For a moment I forgot where we were going. "Damon. Why are we going to see Katherine?" I asked when he sat in the drivers seat. I held my breath waiting for an answer.

"She requested our presence." He answered simply.

"And so what, you decide to accept the invitation." I said feeling the edges of anger creep on my skin,

"It was either we go to her, or she come to us. I think what I chose was the better option." He said as we got back onto the road.

"Don't you think maybe you should have told me this. Maybe I didn't want to go." I said

"You don't have a choice. Stop worrying, I told you already that I wasn't going to let anything happen to you." He said as he pushed a little harder on the pedal.

"And what about you? What's going to happen to you Damon?"

" I don't know." He said and pulled into the driveway of a very large house. "Here, the gas tank is full. If anything happen I'm going to distract her and I want you to drive. Drive fast. Don't stop until you get to Rick's house."

"I'm not going to leave without you." I said not taking the car keys.

"Look Elena stop trying to be a saint and take the keys." He said and shove the keys in my front pocket. He was out of the car and holding my door open in seconds.

I didn't answer and got out of the car. Walking a couple of feet in front of him towards the door of the house. Damon sped up and put himself in front of me protectively before I had the chance to knock at the door. He looked back at me and smile. Giving me a warning look to not try anything stupid and knocked on the door.

"Well its about time you two showed up, Katherine has been waiting. She's in the parlour." Stephan said as he answered the door. I looked at him, he looked so different. Like it wasn't Stephan anymore.

"What happened to you Stephan." I whispered as I followed Damon passed him to the parlour. He didn't answer but I saw something in his features change. I didn't have time to see what it was before it was gone.

I quickly caught up to Damon who had seem to not notice me behind him. I tried to put myself next to him but a quickly moved the side keeping me behind him.

" Well you two sure like to keep a crowd waiting." Katherine said as she answered the door in nothing but a light silky bathrobe with obviously nothing underneath. She moved away from the door and I tried to walk in but Damon's arm was in my path. He tried to step in but couldn't.

"She's not stupid, she's staying in a humans house. I wasn't invited in." Damon said removing his arm as I stepped back behind him. Katherine must have noticed that we weren't behind her anymore. She came back with an older looking man who she must have been compelling.

"Let them in" She said before walking away.

"Won't you please come in." The man said in somewhat of a daze. Damon walked in first, keeping a small distance between us. My heart raced.

We walked into the parlour where Katherine was sitting on the couch, her head leaning on the head rest and her legs resting on Stefan's lap.

My heart ached when I saw Stefan with her. He didn't even seem to notice I was there. He traced circles on Katherine's bare legs as if it were nothing. I guess I was holding me breathe because Damon was looking at me oddly and than looked at Damon. He seemed to understand.

"What do you want Katherine?" Damon said breaking the silence.

" It's not going to work that way Damon, I call the shots." Katherine said. "I have a problem and there aren't many solutions to it. You see, my little lover boy Stefan here seems a little sad. Do you know why?" Katherine said looking at both of us. "Let me explain it to you than. You see Stefan came back to Mystic Falls to start a family and be able to live somewhat of a normal life. The only problem with that is that he doesn't want to leave and unfortunately that means there can be only one Petrova doppelganger living in Mystic Falls or well living at all."

"You are not going to kill Elena, I don't care what Stefan wants. That is something I will not have." Damon said getting into a defensive stance.

" Now shush Damon, I said there weren't that many option, I never said that there was only killing her." Katherine said with a wicked smile.

**Please R&R**


End file.
